Rock & Roll Memories

Woodcraft’s
21st National Sales Conference and Vendor Trade Show was held in
Cleveland, Ohio, this May. The home of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
provided the perfect inspiration for the 2018 photo prop – a bigger-than-life electric
guitar.

I
teamed up with Product Development Manager Ben Bice to make the 8' standing
instrument a few days before the show. Ben used two ¾" x 30" x 48"
Baltic birch plywood sheets for the construction of the guitar, which
he cut with a jigsaw from my sketch. One piece was used for the main guitar
body, and the other piece was used to create the neck and a stand to hold the
guitar upright. Ben used a ¼" round over bit to slightly round edges, and he
sanded the entire piece so it was ready to be painted.

Once
the guitar was handed off to me, I used General Finishes Java Gel Stain on the
front and back of the neck, as well as the kickstand piece, to allow the
woodgrain to still be visible. I brushed it on with a foam brush and then wiped
it off with a clean rag, leaving behind the darker, enhanced grain.

We wanted a really bright color for the body
of the guitar so that gave me a chance to try Unicorn Spit’s Purple Hill
Majesty—a bright “Purple Rain” kind of color. Oh, and it’s jasmine scented!
Having never used this strangely named gel stain and glaze before (and not
following the directions…ahem), I should have prepared the wood before applying
it for a smoother application. But since I didn’t, I went right to work.

I also used White Ning Unicorn Spit to
blend with the purple to give the guitar a little more dimension and add some
lighter highlights. I kept the darker purple towards the edges and blended in
lighter toward the center. I sprayed on some water to keep the paint moving as
I blended. Once dry, I applied three coats of General Finishes HP Gloss
Topcoat. I was going to attempt to paint the
pickguard and pickups—but we came up with a much better idea!

A local sign shop was able to print the
entire pickguard, strings, frets and everything as a two-piece decal! Yes! That
made life a lot easier than trying to paint all that detail.

Product Development Manager Pete Collins (left) and The American Woodshop co-host Scott Phillips (right) take turns making their marks on the guitar.

The guitar has now been returned to
Parkersburg with many signatures. It hangs in the Woodcraft corporate office
along with a plaque and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame pass designed for
Woodcraft’s visit to the museum. A very nice way to commemorate our time in the
rock and roll city.

Connie Harmon, Woodcraft’s Franchise
Compliance Manager, has been organizing the annual meetings with perfection since the very
first one. Together we came up with the guitar idea and it was a hit! Here we
are in front of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in our rocker attire.

Special thanks to my other partner in
crime Ben Bice for his help with another cool collaboration. Here are two other
joint projects we worked on together: